Project Full Overview

For our overall assignment over the first level of the course we had to form a multimedia company. Then as that company design a logo, leaflet and then promotional video to represent the company. Along the way we recorded our progress working on these things on a blog and in our sketchbooks.

To start off we had to think about what kind of identity we wanted for our company. This would differ for each of us as we would have different styles, interests and influences. To think about my company I created a mind map for the company identity and what target audience I would be aiming for. These can be seen below. These ideas would influence the style for the logo, leaflet and video.

The Logo

The first thing I had to do before designing a logo was some research. I had obviously seen logos in use in everyday products and advertising all over the place but hadn't broken them down and seen what worked and didn't and what styles worked for what kind of product. So I started by finding some existing logos and deconstructing them. I detailed this in my sketch book, noting what I liked about them and didn't, what style they used and what product they were for.  From this and more research I found they were some clear guidelines and set rules for the best way to design logos. Examples being ones such as do not use more than three colours and that text should be kept simple and readable.

Next I made another mind map in my sketch book representing the logo I was going to design. Thinking of ideas of things such as what colours I would use, how I would relate it to a media company, what it would include. From this it gave me the base to make my first few scamps in my sketch book. Once I had made these designs I deconstructed them, asking what my class mates thought of them and annotating points I thought were important. From this I then narrowed these initial scamps down into some final designs also in my sketch book and was then ready to go to the computers.

For the designs I used the college Mac computers and the Adobe Illustrator program. This is as it is the best choice to use for vector images and that’s what the logo was going to be. When creating the designs in Illustrator I kept mostly to my original designs but tried a few slight variations in colour and design. The final logos in big and then business card style can be seen below. I tried two main different styles for the logo, with slight colour variations in both.

The logo design overall went pretty well. I managed to get two styles of logos finished and try them in different colour schemes to give plenty of options. They also are kept quite simple, clean and scalable. This means they could be used in many different formats such as on business cards, posters, websites etc. I also liked how I managed to have fun with a few changes in Illustrator such as on the text using the O if rose and I of media to make a rose shape. These are things that weren't always in my initial designs but the program allowed me a flexibility to try a few new things.

There are ways I could have improved the logo. Looking back and seeing the logo in different sizes I don’t think I like the look of the designs and having worked more in Illustrator more now think I could have done much better. I also think I could have made different styles for the logo; I went for a more corporate style and would have liked to add more personality in an arty, fun or urban style etc. I got caught up in a singular vision in the design process and this kept me bogged down and didn't allow me to see where different styles may have taken me later on.

If I was designing a logo again I would try more than one style as well as more than one design. I would keep more of an open mind and flexible in the design process  and also get more feedback in the design process from others as this would help me to see a broader range of ideas.

The Leaflet

The next item to promote our media company was an advertising leaflet for it. The process for this in a lot of ways was similar to the design for the logo. Starting off with research I found existing leaflets and deconstructed them in terms of their layout, content, style and font in my sketch book. From this I could see what I liked and didn't and what style I might like to use in my leaflet.

After this I made a mind map in my sketch book, thinking of ideas for content, styles, colours and fonts.  I tried to learn lessons from the logo and try a few different styles.  I wanted to use my own taken pictures in the leaflet so this gave me time to think about what photos I had taken and which would work well in relation to my media company and advertising it.  From this I made some designs of scamps in my sketch books for designs for the leaflet. These as well as considering what I had thought about in my mind map allowed me to consider the layout I wanted. From these scamps I got some basic feedback from other class members and came too two final designs. One had a more professional style and one a more artistic style. The inclusion of my photos gave both styles more of a personal style and look though and I was pleased about that. I was then ready to go to the computers.

For the designs I used the college Macs and the Adobe Photoshop program. I also used jpeg photos I had taken transferred from my phone to the computers. I used Photoshop as I would be editing the photos I had taken to incorporate them in the leaflet.  In the end of my two original designs I only managed to complete one fully, but I think it turned out well and the final work can be seen below.

I think the leaflet design went well on the whole.  I ended up with a design that I think looked professional and clean cut. The photos I had taken of Manchester looked good and tied in to the theme I was going for of being local and a part of the up and coming North West design scene. They didn't need a lot of effects or editing and worked as good source material to build the rest around. Also from previous lessons I remembered learning about the right way to use the rulers and align your work and after putting effort into this when designing I think this showed.

There are ways I could have improved the leaflet. I had some trouble on the typography and struggled to find a font I was happy with and I though matched the piece and in the end I think the font I settled on detracts from the professional look. Also I would have liked with more time to have finished my second design from my leaflet too as this had a different style and would have given more overall options to choose from at the end. Also I wanted as content on my leaflet to include some example of my work but in the spaces I provided for these they looked a little squashed in. Finally as had to leave out the logo I had created previously from the piece as stated before I was not entirely happy with it and think it took away from the design.

If I was designing a leaflet again I would make sure I finished designs in multiple styles to give more options. I would make sure I was working on better source material to create from to begin with such as a better logo designs. I would also make sure my layout fit all the elements so they could be seen well and work with the design.

Promotional Video

The final thing was to create a promotional video to advertise our media company. Like the past parts before it, this all started with research. We researched various promo videos online, ones with different styles, for different products and using different shooting styles. Having not done any film work before I also needed to learn the different types of shots and effects you can use whilst filming to recognize them being used in existing videos and adapt them myself in my video.  

Next was again to do a mind map for the video. Thinking of ideas of content for the video, shot styles, music I wanted to use etc. This lead to a further breakdown in a pre-production pack which included storyboards, a shot list, a shooting schedule, a production location sheet, a resource list and a risk assessment sheet. Only when all this had been figured out could shooting begin. Shooting was done over one day with a production team of me and three other class members. The details of all the pre-production and then filming can be seen in previous blog posts.

After filming the footage was given to me as separate video files for each scene to be then edited into the final video. The editing was done over a process of a few weeks and was done using the program of Final Cut Pro. This was used as it is a well-known easy to use editing program that gives professional quality. Over the editing I cut the footage and put it into order, changed the sound levels on certain parts, added effects such as footage in footage and titles. I also added external graphics of work I have done and a music track soundtrack to go over the parts of the video without dialogue. The final video can be seen below.

After completing the videos for ourselves, we watched them back as a class and filled in some review sheets on each other’s video, marking them on things such as shots used, editing, effects, sound recorded, soundtrack and more.

I liked the final video that was completed. I managed to experiment with different shot types and effects when shooting and they all worked well. The video had a flow and kept pretty close to the storyboard it was set by. I also managed to include examples of my work in the video. From the feedback from the review sheets I found other class mates also liked my video commenting on the effects, soundtrack and managing to incorporate my logo in there.

There are ways I could have improved the video. At one point in the video I have made a mistake in the editing and the sound level drops too quickly and this makes it obvious, I should have eased the change in and looked more professional. Also the end screen graphics though giving contact details looks a little unprofessional and more time could have been taken on this In the scenes where I am using different video equipment I wish I had used other actors here as with me in all the scenes it doesn't look like a company but rather an individual. Finally I did a lot of the dialogue improvised and for parts I should have scripted and prepared more to look more confident when speaking.

If making another video I would double check all editing to avoid any small mistakes. Make sure all elements and graphics going into the video are high quality to begin with. If there was to be any dialogue included I would also make sure if I was reading it I was more prepared and confident.

Conclusion

In conclusion though there was a lot of mistakes I made along the way and ways my work could have been improved I had a lot of fun designing and producing all three parts of the project and I learned a lot of skills I am taking onto level 2 and hopefully into the job market.